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<p>Walla Walla is in a vallley with it’s own micro-climate. Warmer in the winter than nearby parts of Eastern Washington. Some winters have very little snow. Summers are hot but few students are in town then. There are a few hot weeks as school starts and then things turn very nice. The school year is over before it gets too warm in May.
Of course you have to drive through the hot ugly part of the state on your way there…</p>
<p>Oh, haha. After posting, I realize that this post is kind of irrelevant to my original topic… but oh well!</p>
<p>SmithieandProud - I don’t feel like applying to Whitman would be selling myself short! I know my brother isn’t a genius, but he’s pretty far ahead of me. That’s for sure. Also, I’m completely positive that this lack of confidence does not come from the people around me… People around here are not all that bright. There’s obviously a few that will do very well through their life, but I’ve spent enough time learning about the outside world to understand that my school has a very low quality education. Although my school holds the IB program, it’s a very poor one. For example, the only IB math class in my school is the lowest IB Math Studies class that is available from IB… it’s very sad that only about 20 students of my 400 student class size will even consider trying to complete this low level IB program, in my opinion. But that’s how my school rolls.
My lack of confidence comes from me realizing that I’m not as smart as my grades might say. Not to mention that I’m only so far into my junior year so far. It’s pretty tough, but I just need to bring up my History grade .25%… and I’ll have my 4.0 for now. I feel like I should be doing more community service work… and I don’t know, just being more out there. I’ve been told many times that my work ethic isn’t good enough, as well. My whole family is extremely bright, which is probably the main thing that pushes me down. I’m still school searching, though. And perhaps my biggest reason for not really considering other schools is their location, not their prestige, because I would definitely apply to them if they were in the NW.</p>
<p>Dragonmom- I figured the school year couldn’t be too terrible, since there is a summer and winter break. Also, Yay for air conditioning in cars! By the way… Are dorms air conditioned?</p>
<p>Cookie, if money is not an issue for you, you might want to expand your search a bit to include slightly reachy schools. There are many very fine colleges on the East Coast. My D, who concentrated on the West Coast schools in her college search, ended up going to school in MA. You never know.</p>
<p>Well, money is always an issue for the average person… Whitman is nowhere near cheap. It’s more expensive than the other colleges I’ve looked at and probably more expensive than most on the east coast. But I guess transportation to and from would differ quite a lot. I’m really hoping to get some merit scholarships from somewhere. Depending on the amount of scholarship money I receive, it will be an important factor. But right now, I’m just looking for a good college list.</p>
<p>I’m attempting to open up my colleges search to the east coast… but there’s just so many! This will take a lot more research. And it’s kind of unlikely that I’ll get to visit these colleges anytime soon. Maybe I can drag my family on a trip this summer. :D</p>
<p>My DS got into a couple of the Claremont schools, as well as Oxy. He did 3 overnight visits between the schools. They are all wonderful schools and I would recommend any of them.</p>
<p>In regards to the Claremont schools, it is just a matter of preference, and you would need to check out all of the schools in order to see if one is more of a fit for you than another. You can apply to as many as you wish. Whatever school you were to get into, you can still take classes at any of the 5 schools. You can even, with permission, select your major from one of the other schools, your diploma will just say the school that you are attending. There are over 1000 classes offered between the 5 schools, which makes it a very unique LAC environment. Also, the classes are small in size and taught by Professors. Other things are shared also, like dining halls, events, etc. Most students basically stay on campus on the weekends, as it is in a small town, with not much to do off campus. Like one movie theater, a couple of restaurants & that is about it.</p>
<p>If you are really worried about your SAT score (and I don’t think you need to be) Pitzer may be a school that you should consider, as they do not require SAT test scores. You need to either have a certain GPA (you do qualify!), graduate in the top 10% of your class, and there may be another exemption that I don’t remember.</p>
<p>One more thing to consider 
each of the 5 schools (well, 4 - one is a girls only school) have different “reputations” socially. As the schools get more selective, those reputations are very strongly diluted. So just because you hear that Harvey Mudd is a “party” school, or Pomona is a “preppy, stuck up school” it is not like that anymore. Besides, you can (and probably would) hang out with people with like interests as you - regardless of which school you attend.</p>
<p>Oxy is a great school also! Very beautiful, and in a more urban setting. It has many more things to do off campus. It is just a lot smaller, and and less selective. They do require SAT scores (maybe ACT would qualify also, I don’t remember). It would also not be as hot as the Claremont schools if that is a major concern. I cannot imagine that you would have any problem getting into Oxy with your stats.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend that you try to visit some of these schools if at all possible. They all offer overnight visits, so you can really get a “flavor” of what the school is like if you were to choose an overnight visit. At least check out their websites, and classes offered if you cannot make a trip to the So CA schools.</p>
<p>PS - the food at the Claremont Consortium is wonderful. I had a chance to try it out & it is amazing! LOL Maybe too good :-)</p>
<p>SUNY Geneseo</p>
<p>Oh! Thank you so much again, DVC Daisy. That’s definitely somewhere to start as I read about them. It’s real helpful. I’m hoping to get down there as well… Whitman, East coast, and California. The traveling money required to get my family around is going to cost more than my tuition eventually! Haha.
Food would definitely be a factor of how much I like the school. But if I focus on that too much, I’m going to probably gain more weight than knowledge!</p>
<p>And Geneseograd, that sounds like an extremely random school for me to consider… Do you have any reasoning for that school, or are you just suggesting it because you’re a grad?</p>
<p>Well, no, Whitman’s not selling anyone short, just trying to give a confidence boost to a fellow Pacific Northwester!</p>
<p>Yes, I know. Thanks for that! I like reevaluating myself.</p>